Step 3: Register A Domain Name For Your Home Business

We are unto step three of this blog’s series as it takes you through a step-by-step guide on how you can make your home business a successful one. Having gone through step one which can be found here and step two which is here, you are ready to establish your business online presence by registering a domain name for your to be designed business website (will be covered in the next step). It is time to start reaching your potential customers and clients. When you don’t know how to go about the registration of your domain name, you might fall victim to certain pitfalls that would hamper the growth of your business. Are you ready to learn first-hand how to successfully register your domain name? Then read on.

There are two methods involved in domain name registration for your online business – registering with a hosting service and without a traditional hosting approach for advance needs. These two methods will be analyzed separately.

1- Registering with a hosting service

Since websites are usually made with various files, there will always be need for storage of those files. This is where the company offering hosting services comes into the picture. Those files will be stored on the company’s servers. It is a different thing altogether if you are not making use of a hosting service. There are certain set of instructions that you are expected to follow as you go through the process of registering a domain name for the website that will earn you reliable passive income.

If you did inherit a website or bought an existing one, there will be no need for you to choose a hosting service except where you are not comfortable with the terms of the existing hosting company. For a new website, you should ensure that you go for a reputable service provider. However, you should have it at the back of your mind that each hosting company comes with its own varied prices and policies. Whatever suits your budget and your small home business is what you should go for.

For example, the one i have been using and that i Highly recommend is Hostgator. Base on my experience with them and the feedback of reputable business owner online, they are the BEST company i know in term of hosting services offers. Please visit their website here for more details.When you choose to register your domain name with a hosting service offer, the following steps will take you through the tour:

Step 1: Provide your domain name. If you don’t have it yet, don’t worry. We’ll guide you later in this article on how to choose a suitable domain name for your business.

Step 2: Choose you hosting plan: basically this is where you choose your package, indicating how many domain you want to host, how many month are you paying, etc. Well all this depend of your budget.But my advice is, if it’s your first website you want to host, start small and you will learn more through the process, then upgrade later if necessary.

Step 3: Provide you billing information and check if you want to take additional package.Again my advice is to take just the main basic package to start, and upgrade with whatever you feel necessary later.

In a nutshell, here are the options you can utilize through the hosting company:

Availability checker: This is the tool that the hosting company avails you in order to determine if the domain name you wish to use for your website is available or already taken. If it is taken, the tool will suggest alternatives closer to the original name you wanted to use. Please note that this step is critical, and need your full attention as choosing a good name can server your online business for years to come. This will be discussed later in this article.

Use of other services: Congratulations, you have successfully found a domain name for your online business You are now required to follow certain instructions in order to complete the chosen service. One good thing about this process is that you are given the option to add lots of other services being offered by the hosting company. It is then left to you to choose what suits your website but especially, your business.

Utilize the hosting company’s tools: With your registration completed, you are now at liberty to utilize their tools in transforming your website. Whatever tools that will enhance your visitors’ experience should be properly utilized. Create more passive income opportunities by ensuring that your site’s visitors are having a stress-free tour of your website.

2-Another approach for advance and scaling business

Just to be clear, if you are a beginner in all this, i recommend you stick with the first approach already discussed. But if you are an advanced internet user, or your already holding a scaling business, you may consider this approach. The goal is to have more control on the technical aspect of your hosting, by defining the capacity of your host (server) and configuring the main features yourself.

Choose a registrar

With this issue resolved, then you proceed to registering your domain name. There are several websites that focus only on domain name registration. However, make sure that the firm you choose to transact with is a reputable firm and fully certified as domain registrar. This is mainly because some registrars are restricted on the type or level of domain they can register. For example, it is not every registrar that can register TLDs (top level domains). The best company i know from my experience and online feedback is Name Cheap.

Get yourself a server

Since you have decided to do the hosting of your site on your own, it is important that you get a server on which your online business website can be hosted. If your budget is such that you cannot afford to acquire a straight-up server, then you can repurpose that computer you no longer have a need of. If you are anticipating that your website will experience huge traffic, it would be better to opt for a system that is very fast. This will help to make your website customer-friendly as it loads faster and in turn, helps the site’s visitors to carry out their transactions without spending more time than necessary.

Get an IP address

In carrying out this step as you work towards creating online presence to improve your passive income stream, it is important that you opt for a static IP address. The major reason why this is important is that sometimes, when the IP address is not static, the address changes and when this happens, the site’s visitors will not be able to locate such site again. This is not good for a business website as you will surely lose your potential customers to your competition. Just as you would need a particular address for your mails to be delivered to you, your website needs a static IP address for your services and products to be delivered to your target customers and clients.

Other steps involved in getting free hosting for your home business website includes choosing the software needed for efficient running of your website, routing the site’s traffic to the right location, testing it and finally, taking into account the risks associated with registering your domain name and hosting it without a hosting services company. You should ensure that there are minimal or no chances of security breaches in any form.

With the new developing cloud computing technology, all the above mentioned steps are now done for your to make this method more accessible. We now have online several companies offering you access to a virtual server of your chosen capacity, a public IP address, and all the security guarantee you need to setup and host a robust and secure website. The Best company i know with this type of offers is Amazon, but you can run a search for “virtual private cloud” on Google to have more details and possibilities.

Getting your domain name right

Whether you choose to register your domain name and host your website through reputable hosting services or you host it on your own, there are a few basics you should put into consideration in order to make the most of your online business internet presence. These basics include:

Keep the domain name current: Choosing a name that sounds archaic might just throw off your customers to your competitors. As much as possible, avoid the use of numbers to represent your site’s name. Go for a current name that portrays your website as a professional one. Yes, the name you choose should not just sound professional, but should also be a legitimate name so that your website will not be mistaken for a scam. Instead of using a name like com, opt for uniquewriter.com

Take advantage of Google tools: Maximize your site’s search engine optimization by utilizing the several benefits associated with the use of Google tools, especially Google Keywords.

Good luck as you successfully accomplish this step in creating passive income through internet opportunities. The next move towards achieving the ultimate success for your internet business is right on this page.